The all-important Test series between South Africa and India got underway on Tuesday, 26 December at Centurion’s SuperSport Park, and things didn’t quite to as per plan for the visiting team.
Team India arrived in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ with their sights firmly set on achieving the one feat that has eluded them for the past three decades — win a Test series on South African soil.
The limited-overs leg of the tour was largely a positive one for the Men in Blue — drawing the T20I leg 1-1 before winning the ODIs 2-1. The focus for the Indian team and their fans back home, however, remained firmly on the Freedom Trophy that will be awarded to the winner of the two-Test series.
In what was their first outing in whites in nearly half a year, the Rohit Sharma-led side found themselves ending the day barely crawling past the 200-mark, ending the day on 208/8 after stumps had been called earlier than usual due to inclement weather.
Their chances of getting to 250 from this position on Day 2 appear slim and a lot will depend on how their bowling unit responds on what is being touted as a tough wicket to bat on.
But before we shift our focus to the second day’s play, we take a look at some of the standout moments from the opening day of the Test series:
Burger off to a flying start
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for Nandre Burger since he made his debut for the Proteas in the third T20I against the visiting Indians in Johannesburg. Not only would the left-arm pacer go on to make his ODI and Test debuts later this month, he would end up bagging an IPL deal with the Rajasthan Royals as well.
I like Nandre Burger. I like his pace a lot. The only thing I’d like even more, is if he didn’t smile as much and got more aggressive!
Smiling at batters gives them a small win every single time.
Bowl fast, seriously fast and DO NOT smile after most deliveries!
— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) December 26, 2023
And on Tuesday, Burger celebrated becoming South Africa’s 358th Test cap by dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in quick succession in what was a turbulent morning session for the Indians. Both Jaiswal and Gill were caught-behind, the former getting an outside nick due to late away movement and Gill getting a faint tickle off the glove after getting cramped down the leg side.
Bavuma walks off
It’s only been a day into the Test series and the Proteas have a major injury scare already. Temba Bavuma had opted to field after winning the toss, and was doing a fairly decent job marshalling his troops in the morning session. Kohli decided to push the ball through the extra cover region in the 20th over of the innings and Bavuma decided to give the ball a spirited chase, only to start hobbling close to the boundary rope that forced the South African physio to rush to the centre and help the 33-year-old limp his way back to the dressing room.
Temba Bavuma was hobbling midway while chasing the ball through extra cover and managed to save the boundary and returned the ball to the wicketkeeper. However, he still looked in discomfort and was helped off the field by the physio. AP
Bavuma’s injury, which was later revealed to be a hamstring strain, has cast a shadow on his ability to participate in the remainder of the Test. Luckily for the Proteas, they had former captain Dean Elgar, who masterminded the 2-1 series victory over the Indians in 2021-22, in their ranks to assume charge right away.
Five-star Rabada rips through Indian batting order
Returning to action for the first time since the ICC World Cup semi-final defeat against Australia in Kolkata, Kagiso Rabada gave yet another reminder of why he is such a highly rated bowler across formats in international cricket. Rabada, who remains the leader of South Africa’s attack in Tests as well as in the two white-ball formats, snuffed out the wicket of India skipper Rohit Sharma early in the innings, laying the leg-side trap for the ‘Hitman’ and enticing him into playing his trademark pull, albeit straight into Nandre Burger’s hands at long leg.
South Africa pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada went past 500 international wickets with his haul of 5/44 on Day 1 of the first Test against India in Centurion. AP
Rabada would then strike twice right after lunch to put the Proteas back in charge just when Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were starting to rebuild the innings. Rabada would first breach Iyer’s defence using the wobble-seam that stayed a touch low before jagging back in. It was his dismissal of Kohli, however, that took the cake, setting the star batter up with a couple of short-of-length deliveries before firing a slightly fuller one outside off that nipped away ever so slightly, enough to kiss the outer edge for a caught-behind dismissal.
Read | Kagiso Rabada describes dismissing Virat Kohli on Day 1
Rabada would end up grabbing all four wickets that fell in the second session, dismissing bowling all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur to complete his 14th Test five-for and in the process complete 500 wickets in international cricket.
Rahul stands tall amid collapse
India were reduced to 176/7 at tea on the opening day and none of the batters had crossed 50 yet, with Kohli and Iyer departing in the 30s and Thakur getting dismissed after an entertaining cameo in which he collected 24 off 33 balls. They might have been shot out for 200 or less had it not been for KL Rahul’s gritty 70 not out in 105 balls, with the 31-year-old bringing up his 14th Test half-century along the way.
THAT moment when @klrahul got to his half-century in Centurion. 🙌🏽 #TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/6O6jibCJMk
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2023
Batting at the No 6 position after being preferred over Srikar Bharat as the wicketkeeper-batter, Rahul joined Kohli at the crease after Iyer’s dismissal and soon found himself in charge of the situation at the centre. He held his end resolutely even as wickets tumbled at regular intervals at the other. Rahul did manage to get India past 150 by stitching an attacking 43-run partnership with Thakur off 68 deliveries, and would not shy away from going for the ambitious shots once the Indian batting entered the tail.
Rahul would bring up his half-century with a four and a six off successive deliveries from Burger and would collect consecutive boundaries off Gerald Coetzee to guide Team India past 200. And heading into the second day, he certainly will have his eyes on the three-figure mark.
India vs South Africa: Rabada’s fifer, Rahul’s gritty knock and other standout moments from Day 1 of 1st TestRead More
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